Machine for the treating of hat-felts



June 19, 1934. T. aoRsALlNo 1,963,113

MACHINE FOR THE TREATING OF HAT FELTS Filed March 5, 1933 Fig TERESIO BORSALINO INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented June 19, 1934 UNITED STATES MACHINE FOR THE TREATING OF HAT-FELTS Teresio Borsalino, Alessandria, Italy Application March 3, 1933, Serial No. 659,537 In Italy March 3, 1932 Claims.

The machine made according to this invention is intended to effect the mechanical displacing of the folds in hat-felts, which operation is one of those necessary in the manufacture of hats.

5 By this displacement the fold, existing on the left edge of the initially flattened felt cone, is brought from the left towards the middle of the felt, and the fold on the right is brought in similar manner in the opposite direction, also towards the middle of the felt. Because of this crosswise motion the operation may be called crossing or crozing the felt.

In the accompanying drawing a preferred form of the machine embodying the invention is shown by way of example.

Fig. 1 shows a plan view, while Fig. 2 shows an elevation or side view of the machine.

This machine comprises essentially a plate a, made as a sector or of other form, of suitable material (wood, hard rubber or metal, covered by other materials) and receiving alternatively two different movements: the one of horizontal rotation about an eccentric shaft 1), the other of lowering and raising by means of vertical guides c of cylindrical or prismatical form, held by a strut d.

The said plate a, which is the principal operating member of the machine presses in the lowered position and also during the rotary motion on the felt which is placed on an endless web or belt 6 of linen or rubber or metal-wire- Work, suitably reinforced and stiffened by a table 1 of wood or metal which is made so as to be resiliently yielding by spring supports or by pneumatic supports 51. The whole is supported by a trestle or frame work h. The foresaid endless web or belt e is wound upon and stretched between two special rollers lc and by means of these it is laterally displaced by a certain length and with a determined velocity during the raising of the operating member or sector 11, whilst it is at a standstill during the lowering of the sector and during its pressing on the belt for the execution of the said horizontal rotation.

The operating sector a and the rollers of the endless web e below it are controlled in the described movements by a conveniently disposed mechanism. When the belt e is moved (from the left to the right), the plate a, in raised position, returns towards the left to position 1, and when belt 6 with its rollers 70 is stationary, the plate a is lowered on the belt e, pressing on it with its weight, and then rotating toward the right hand position 2. Thus the plate a, by friction takes along the upper layer of the felt, displacing the fold from the edge to the middle and smoothing it in the same time. The mechanical operating means for these movements may be for example a transmission s driving the shaft Z with a continuous movement, transmitted by toothed wheels and over a friction coupling, for example both of which are not visible in the drawing, to the shaft Z, which thus receives a discontinuous rotation as the foresaid friction coupling is interrupted at regular intervals by means of a cam. The discontinuous rotation is transmitted by means of chains 1 from the middle part Z to the shaft 1" bearing a roller k, which discontinuously moves the belt c with the felt a. For raising the plate a and for lowering it in accordance with the discontinuous movements of the belt, a cam m may be provided on which a lever slides as may be seen in Fig. 2), whilst for moving the plate horizontally, a similar cam m may be used, cooperating with a connecting rod n and an articulation q.

A second transport mechanism t, consisting of an endless band or of rollers and the like, may be provided on the side of the endless belt e.

The operation of the machine, as clearly shown in the drawing is as follows: By putting a hat-felt having the usual form of a flattened cone on the endless belt 6, which is at a standstill, exactly at the point indicated by the arrow 2, (Fig. 1) and in the manner as shown in the figure, the endless belt moves the felt during its movement until it is stopped below the sector a at the moment when this sector in its rotation has reached the extreme position 1, towards the left and is lowered towards the belt. The sector a thus presses upon the belt and begins a rotation towards the right. The endless band or belt remains still and blocked against the rigid surface of table 1 below it, until the sector a has finished its rotation and has reached position 2 (extreme position towards the right).

During this operation, the lower layer of the felt remains adherent to the endless belt on which it is pressed, whilst the upper layer, transported by the friction of the sector during its displacement, is displaced towards the right.

In this way there will obviously take place a relative movement of the upper on the lower layer of the felt, and therefore the folds change place and the desired crozing and smoothing effect is obtained.

As soon as the rotating sector has reached the position 2, it begins its raising movement and leaves the endless belt as well as the felt, upon which the folds have been displaced crosswise. At the same time this felt is shifted forward by the transporter t to its destination.

In the meantime another felt has been placed in line on the endless belt in the position indicated by the arrow 2 and has been brought below the sector, which after its raising, has finished its returning rotation and is now lowered on the new felt in the position 1 (extreme position towards the left) to begin again the described cycle.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A machine for crozing or displacing crosswise the folds in hat felts, comprising the combination, of a horizontal plate eccentrically mounted on a vertical shaft and adapted to rotate with said shaft in a horizontal plane, an intermittent horizontally moving conveying mechanism disposed below the level of said plate and adapted to convey a hat felt in a single movement to a stationary position beneath said plate and in a single subsequent movement con-. vey said hat felt both away from said stationary position and from the machine, means for lowering said plate uponthe hat felt in the stationary position upon said conveyor mechanism and subseguently raising said plate out of contact with the hat-felt, and means imparting solely a partial revolution to saidv plate in the lowered position thereof in order to produce a wiping and smoothing action under pressure upon said hat felt, the

latter being moved from the machine simulta= neously with the raising of said plate.

2. A machine according to claim 1, wherein the plate upon the vertical shaft has the form of a sector and forms the means for returning it by a partial revolution to starting position when in raised position out of contact with the hat felt.

3. A machine according to claim 1, wherein the conveyor mechanism comprises a pair of rollers, at least one of which is driven, and an endless belt stretched over said rollers and extending therebetween and beneath the plate, there being stationary support means beneath a part of said belt.

4. A machine according to claim 1, wherein a stationary supporting table is provided to sup- 

